G/SG/N/1/IND/3/Suppl.2  
 
6 May 2021  
(21-3893) Page: 1/5 
Committee on Safeguards  Original: English  
 
 
NOTIFICATION OF LAW S AND REGULATIONS UNDER  
ARTICLE 12.6 OF THE AGREEMENT  ON SAFEGUARDS  
INDIA 
Supplement  
The following communication, dated  and received  on 3 May 2021, is being circulated at the request 
of the delegation of India.  
 
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Pursuant to Article 12.6 of Agreement on Safeguards , India hereby notifies the amendments to its 
Safeguard  Rules, namely, "Customs Tariff (Identification  and Assessment of Safeguard Duty) Rules, 
2021". The amendment rules were notified vi de Government of India 's Notification No.1 2/2021 -
Customs (N.T) dated 1st February, 2021. Copy of the same is attached.  
The amendment is also available in the public domain and can be accessed at http://www.cbic.gov.in  
at the following weblink:  
https://www.cbic.gov.in/resources//htdoc s-cbec/customs/cs -act/notifications/notfns -2021/cs -
nt2021/csnt12 -2021.pdf  
This supplements India's earlier notification .1 
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1 G/SG/N/1/IND/2/Suppl. 3. G/SG/N/1/IND/3/Suppl.2  
 
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 [TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE GAZETTE OF INDIA, EXTRAORDINARY, PART II, SECTION  3, 
SUB-SECTION (i)]  
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA  
MINISTRY OF FINANCE  
(DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE)  
Notification No. 1 2/2021 -Customs (N.T.)  
New Delhi, the 1st February, 2021  
G.S.R. … (E).  - In exercise of the powers conferred by sub -section ( 10) of section 8B of the 
Customs  Tariff Act, 1975 (51 of 1975), the Central Government hereby makes the following rules to 
amend the Customs Tariff (Identification  and Assessment of Safeguard Duty) Rules,  1997, namely:  - 
1. Short title and commencement. — (1) These rules may be called the Customs Tariff 
(Identif ication  and Assessment of Safeguard Duty) Amendment Rules, 2021.  
(2) They shall come into force on the 2nd February,  2021.  
2. In the Customs Tariff ( Identification  and Assessment of Safeguard Duty) Rules, 
1997(hereinafter referred to as the said rules), in  rule 1, in sub -rule (1), for the word "Duty", the 
word "Measures" shall be substituted . 
3. In the  said rules, in rule 2, - 
(a) in clause (b), for the word "duty", the word "measure" shall be substituted;  
(b) in clause (d), in sub -clause (i ), for the word "duty", the word "measures" shall be substituted;  
(c) for clause (f), the following clause shall be substituted, namely: - 
'(f)"provisional measure" means provisional safeguard measure imposed under 
sub-section  (5) of section 8B of the Act; ' ; 
(d) after clause (f), the following clause shall be inserted, namely: - 
'(fa) "safeguard measure" means safeguard duty, or a tariff rate quota or such other measures 
imposed under sub -section (1) of section 8B of the Act; ' ; 
(e) after clause (g), the f ollowing clause shall be inserted, namely:  - 
'(ga) "WTO" means the World Trade Organisation; ' ; 
4. In the said rules, in rule 3, for the word "Safeguard" occurring at both the places, the words 
"Trade Remedies" shall be substituted.  
5. In the said rules, in rule 4,  - 
(a) in clause (2), for the word "duty", the word "measure" shall be substituted;  
(b) in clause (4),  - 
(i) for the word "duty" occurring at both the places, the word "measure" shall be substituted;  
(ii) in sub -clause (ii), the word "posi tive" shall be omitted;  
(c) in clause (5), for the word "duty", the word "measure" shall be substituted.  
6. In the said rules, in rule 5,  - G/SG/N/1/IND/3/Suppl.2  
 
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 (i) in sub -rule (2), in clause (b), the word "positive" shall be omitted;  
(ii) in sub -rule (4), for the words "Commissioner of Customs", the words 
"Principal  Commissioner of Customs or Commissioner of Customs, as the case may be," 
shall be substituted.  
7. In the said rules, in rule 6, in sub -rule (1), for clause (i), the following clause shall be 
substituted, namely: - 
"(i) the name of the exporting countries, article involved and volume of imports."  . 
8. In the said rules, for rule 8, the following rule shall be substituted, namely: - 
"8. Determination of serious injury or threat of serious injury . The Director General 
shall determine serious injury or threat of serious injury to the domestic industry taking into 
account the following principles, namely: - 
(i) in the investigation to determine whether increased imports have caused or threatening to 
cause serious injury to the domestic industry, the Director General shall evaluate all 
relevant factors of an objective and quantifiable nature having a bearing on th e situation 
of that industry, in particular, the rate and amount of the increase in imports of the article 
concerned in absolute and relative terms, the share of the domestic market taken by 
increased imports, changes in the level of sales, production, pro ductivity, capacity 
utilisation, profits and losses, and employment;  
(ii) the determination referred to in clause (i) shall not be made unless the investigation 
demonstrates, on the basis of objective evidence, the existence of the causal link between 
increased imports of the article concerned and serious injury or threat thereof and when 
factors other than increased imports are causing injury to the domestic industry at the 
same time, such injury shall not be attributed to increased imports and in such cas es, the 
Director General may refer the complaint to the authority for antidumping or countervailing 
duty investigations, as appropriate."  
9. In the said rules, in rule 10, - 
(i) for the word "duty" wherever it occurs, the word "measure" shall be substituted;  
(ii) for the words, brackets and figures "sub -section (2)", the words, brackets and figures 
"sub-section (5)" shall be substituted.  
10. In the said rules, in rule 11, - 
(i) for sub-rule (2), the following sub -rule shall be substituted, namely: - 
"(2) (a) The Director General shall also give recommendations regarding the extent of 
measure which, if levied, would be adequate to prevent or remedy serious injury and to 
facilitate a djustment;  
(b) the level of tariff rate quota, if imposed as a measure, may be determined having regard 
to the following conditions, namely:  - 
(i) maintaining traditional trade flow of the article over the representative period;  
(ii) the existing and likel y demand supply scenario in the country; and  
(iii) any other condition that may be considered relevant:  
Provided that the tariff rate quota applied shall not reduce the quantity of imports below the 
level of the recent period, which shall be the average of  imports in the last three years for 
which statistics are available, unless a different level is deemed necessary to prevent or 
remedy serious injury;  
(c) tariff rate quota may be global or country specific;  G/SG/N/1/IND/3/Suppl.2  
 
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 (d) specific tariff rate quota may be allocated to countries with substantial interest, considering 
the proportion of the share of imports of the article concerned into the country during a 
representative period, and having regard to all relevant factors which may have or are likely 
to affect the trade in the article;  
(e) in a case where the tariff rate quota is country specific, a residual tariff rate quota shall be 
provided for all other countries and in case the countries with specific tariff rate quota exhaust 
their specific tariff rate quotas, such countries may use the residual tariff rate quota available;  
(f) any unused tariff rate quota may be carried forward and added to the tariff rate quota for 
the subsequent period."  ; 
(ii) in sub -rule (3), - 
(a) for the word "duty", the word "measure" shall b e substituted;  
(b) in the proviso, the word "positive" shall be omitted.  
11. In the said rules, in rule 12, for the word "duty", wherever it occurs, the word "measure" shall 
be substituted.  
12. In the said rules, in rule 13,  - 
(i) for the word "duty", occurring at both the places, the word "measure" shall be 
substituted;  
(ii) a proviso shall be inserted, namely: - "provided that no such measure shall be applied on 
an article originating from a developing country so long as the share of  imports of 
that article from that country does not exceed three per. cent or where the articl e is 
originating from more than one developing country, then, so long as the aggregate of the 
imports from each of such developing countries with less than three per . cent import 
share taken together, does not exceed nine per. cent of the total import of t hat article in 
India".  
13. In the said rules, in rule 14, for the word "duty" wherever it occurs, the word "measure" shall 
be substituted.  
14.  In the said rules, for rule 15, the following rule shall be substituted, namely – 
"15. Refund of duty.  - If the safeguard measure imposed as a duty after the conclusion of 
the investigation is lower than the provisional measure in the form of a duty already imposed 
and collected, the differential shall be refunded to the importer."  . 
15. In the said rules, in rule 1 6, - 
(i)  for the word "duty" wherever it occurs, the word "measure" shall be substituted;  
(ii)  in sub -rule (1), the word "positive" shall be omitted.  
16. In the said rules, in rule 17, for the word "duty" wherever it occurs, the word "measure" shall 
be substituted.  
17. In the said rules, in rule 18, - 
(i)  for the word "duty" wherever it occurs, the word "measure" shall be substituted;  
(ii) in sub -rule (1), in clause (i), the word "positively" shall be omitted;  
(iii) after sub -rule (1), the following sub -rule shall be inserted, namely  - "(1A) The 
Director  General may review the usage and implementation of the tariff rate quota 
 for any modification.";  
(iv) in sub -rule (2), after the words, brackets and figures "sub -rule (1)", the words, brackets 
and figure s "or sub -rule (1A)" shall be inserted.  G/SG/N/1/IND/3/Suppl.2  
 
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 18. In the said rules, after rule 18, the following rule shall be inserted, namely: - 
"19. Notification and consultation.  – (1) The Central Government shall notify to the WTO 
of all actions required under the WTO Agreement on Safeguards. (2) Before imposition of a 
safeg uard measure, an opportunity to hold consultations with the members of the WTO having 
substantial interest as exporters of the product concerned, shall be provided ." 
19. In the said rules, the ANNEXURE shall be omitted.  
[F.No.334/02/2021 -TRU] 
(Rajeev Ranjan)  
Under Secretary to the Government of India  
Note: - The principal rules was published vide notification nu mber 35/1997 -Customs (N.T), dated 
the 29th July, 1997, in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3, Sub -section (i), vide 
number G.S.R. 428(E), dated the 29th July, 1997.  
 
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